familybush.com

It’s not real. But, Sophia thought it was. I tried to warn her. But, I guess it looked too yummy.

Click on the picture below. This is good stuff. I just wish we were going!

I love this organization. I’m sold on it. Read more about my experience with Compassion International here and here.

Want to do something amazing? Go here. You’re just a few clicks away from making Jesus smile. No, really. Helping lift kids out of poverty is probably in the top 5 of Jesus’ “What I Want My Followers To Do Today” list. Heck! Maybe top 3! Compassion International is the bridge between you and those kids. It’s a great organization. I know first hand. I’ve visited 2 Compassion projects in Lima, Peru multiple times. We sponsor a little girl in Lima and have seen with our own eyes the incredible impact $32 dollars a month has had on her and her family. Need more reasons? Here are a few:

- You will fall in love.

- You will change a child’s life forever.

- Tax deduction.

- The thrill of sacrifice.

- You’ll be obeying the two most important commands. (Mk. 12:29)

- You will make a new friend (I have a notebook full of letters our compassion kids have sent us).

- You will learn about a new culture.

- You will teach your kids (or roommate or whoever) to love God by loving people.

- One less kid will go to bed hungry tonite.

And if that’s not enough, maybe a picture of our beautiful girl in Lima will do the trick . . . Actually, I’m just a proud sponsor who wants to show off his kid.

Do you sponsor a kid?

I feel like a jumbled mass of motives and wants and intentions all pulling me in a different direction. My life feels messy. I guess that’s probably just how life is. Just like a big bowl of spaghetti.

Sometimes I think following God equals being in solitude, saying prayers, and thinking only of ‘heavenly things‘. But, that’s not it at all. Not by a long shot. God is so much more organic and creative and messy than that. Far from the monastery I am. Instead of solitude I live in a house full of voices and feelings and emotions. Instead of ‘heavenly things’ I am obliged to think about dirty diapers, hurting teenagers, and hot dogs on the grill. Instead of long, deep-voiced prayers my conversation with God usually amounts too “Help me God!”.

My life is messy. Yet, through all these things I am with God and he is with me. He is speaking to me. He is teaching me. He is shaping me. All of that happens by means of the things he has me doing everyday . . . not in spite of them.

There’s a great article in Home Life magazine this week about living space, the lack of living space that is. This family of four starting out in a small trailer home 10 years ago. It wasn’t the plan to live there this long . . . but they still do. Here is an excerpt of what the mom had to say about it.

Sure, I dream of having a larger home where I can entertain and host family holiday gatherings . . . My family and friends continue to drop helpful hints about floor plans or affordable building options. We smile, thank them, and stay with the plan God has for us. When the time comes, we’ll have a new house. In the meantime, we’ll continue to tithe and give to build his kingdom. We will not sacrifice that part of our worship for any house, large or small.

I do not want to someday hear my Lord say, “Sherri, why were you so worried about your house on earth? Didn’t you know I was preparing a mansion for you?” . . .

Jesus talked about an eternal perspective. He talked about living life with a proper view of how short it really is . . . and how long eternity will be. It’s not about what we want. It’s not about comfort or all this stuff we spend so much time and energy on.

Sometimes obedience downright hurts. Sometimes obedience doesn’t have a happy ending. Jesus wants us to obey him because we love him and because he is our God. Yet, I sometimes find myself agreeing to obey reassuring myself that God must have a big prize in store for me.

I lived on three acres growing up. Mowing the lawn was a constant battle starting in April every year. I remember the first time I mowed the whole 2.5 acre field by myself. As I sat daydreaming, somehow it occurred to me that surely I was going to be greatly rewarded for doing this. I was convinced that my parents were, at that moment, planning my reward. By the end of the three hour job I had myself convinced that a wonderful prize awaited me inside.

When I finished, I parked the mower and bounded inside. As I entered the kitchen through the back door, I eagerly looked around for my prize. I checked the counters. I looked at my parents faces expecting to see a warm glow of pride toward their incredibly helpful son. Nothing. There wasn’t anything. No prize. No “Wow! You mowed the lawn! Great job son!”. Nothing. Then it occurred to me: I’m supposed to mow the lawn out of obedience. It’s not about what I can get. It’s about fulfilling my duty as my Father’s son. And there was satisfaction in that.

Obedience. Sometimes, that’s the only thing that keeps us where we are. Jesus put us here. We are just fulfilling our duty as our Father’s children. And we are learning to be satisfied in him alone.

We’re not going into the Promise House blindly. We understand that this job is going to be very very difficult. There is nothing messier in life than relationships with people . . . and we’re about to jump into some pretty complicated lives.

But . . . we’re excited!! Amanda and I both have a strange desire to be mixed up in people’s lives. And truthfully we want to be mixed up in complicated lives. We want to share life with people who are confused about who they are and who God is. We want to be mixed up in lives like that because God has given us a love for folks like that. And we truly believe that Jesus can use us to draw them closer to him.

I have this really cool photo of Amanda. She is holding a little boy named David. He was an orphan in Mexico that we met about 5 or 6 years ago. This kid was begging for someone to let him be a part of their family. And truthfully, Amanda and I would probably take him in right now if we could. I know, I know . . . that’s not practical! There are all kinds of reasons not to get involved with people like that: they might be emotionally unstable, they’ll cause problems, they cost money, they take time, they might be dangerous, they might not love you back . . . and the list goes on.

I guess to us, it doesn’t matter. Jesus said love the least of ‘em. And, for us, that means getting involved . . . getting into the nitty gritty of relationship.

That’s why we’re excited.

About 7 years ago Compassion International came to Ouachita Baptist University where my wife (then girlfriend) and I were studying to share about their ministry and give students the chance to partner with them by sponsoring a little boy or girl. Amanda and I decided to sponsor a child together. There were four or five tables set up with hundreds of pictures of children. We picked a little girl from Peru.

Would you believe it, three years later, we moved to Lima, Peru to serve as missionaries just minutes from where she lived and the Compassion project! We were able to visit the her at the project and her home on a regular basis for about two years. We saw first hand what an incredible impact our 32$ a month had on her life and the lives of her family members.

We literally have been able to watch Betzabeth grow from a shy, scared little 4-year-old to an outgoing, healthy, loving young lady.

We definitely believe in this ministry. We’ve seen it’s fruits firsthand. If you’d like to know more about Compassion International visit www.ci.org.